


Deep in your eyes lie the stars

by masterlokisev159



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Angry Steve Rogers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Commander Rogers, Falling out, First Kiss, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Post-Secret Invasion (Marvel), Post-brain deletion, Protective Steve Rogers, Rescue Missions, Self-Sacrificing Tony Stark, Stark: Disassembled, Superhero Registration Act
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25486510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterlokisev159/pseuds/masterlokisev159
Summary: Steve hasn't spoken to Tony since he woke up from his coma. With everything that's happened between them, it's been hard to think about Tony without thinking of the SHRA and the fallout from Tony's self-induced brain deletion. He'd much rather take the Commander position and fix this relationship with Sharon.Then Carol calls him and tells him she found something. A distress call with a terrifying message.He hasn't spoken to Tony in months.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 38
Kudos: 303
Collections: 2020 Cap/Iron Man Tiny Reverse Bang





	Deep in your eyes lie the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [An Ending and Beggining [ART]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027459) by [papoula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/papoula/pseuds/papoula). 



> Thank you to the most amazing papoula for the artwork! And thank you to the most amazing mods for running TRB 2020! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This is set after the events of Tony's brain delete after the SHRA and Steve's assassination (and resurrection). Steve and Tony still haven't made up yet.

It was dark and cold in space. No one had ever described it like that but Steve didn’t care. He could be the first, second, third, fourth, fifth-

“Commander, we are inbound.” 

“Thank you Maria.” Steve turned away from the call room and began to head towards the cockpit, not bothering to address the concerned glances he was getting his way. The Avengers team he’d assembled, consisted of Carol, Thor, Natasha and Hank-an amalgamation of both the secret corps team led by Nick and Maria, and the other, more well known Avengers group. It had been on his request as commander that they assembled.

And he still hadn’t really explained why. 

“Sharon, how’re we looking?” Steve said quietly, approaching her from behind the pilot seat, to watch the radar in front. This quinjet was fully adapted for spacial flight, but Steve had never been comfortable with the idea of reaching the stars unless he absolutely had to. 

He just prayed there was no Galactus where he was going.

“Still a fair bit to go. The coordinates are listed here, see? They haven’t moved but then again, we have no idea if the distress call was meant for us.” She said distantly with a slight eye-roll, twisting a few of the dials and clicking on several buttons. On the radar screen, a red dot appeared and flashed in that familiar sequence.

Steve hadn’t been the first one to hear it. It’d been Carol.

_“Steve there’s something you need to see.” Carol said, instantly swiping her card to grant access to her private quarters. In the middle of her desk was a huge monitor and several devices from her travels. The main center piece was the dulled, almost child-like collection of scrap metal. Simple space junk, cobbled together into a collection of taped slabs. It looked like a worn out transmitter and Steve could see where the antenna attached to it had snapped off._

_“What is it?” He said, stepping forward to lean over and inspect it more closely. It was gun-metal grey and didn’t really say much about the origin._

_“I found it while I was out. Private job but we happen to hit some space traffic on the way back. I found a whole heap of things but this...” Carol’s eyes darkened and she crossed her arms, almost huddling in on herself._

_“It was sending a signal. It still is, if I switch it on. But Steve...”_

_When he looked up, he noticed how sunken her eyes were, and how pale she looked. Had she been sleeping?_

_“I think I know who it’s from.” She said, and took a deep breath as she stepped forward and picked the device up. In front of him, she turned it over and pulled up a hidden flap in the back slab. A tiny set of blue, red and white circles, surrounded a small red button. When she switched it on, a familiar burst of noises erupted from the speakers._

_He frowned and turned to her. “That’s Morse code.”_

_Looking almost grey, she nodded. “I know.”_

_Shocked, Steve leaned over the table and tilted his head, closing his eyes in concentration. He very quickly realized it was on repeat. A repeat message, trapped in a cycle. A recorded message from god knew how long ago._

_He listened again. And again._

_It was a distress call. But the worst thing was it wasn’t saying SOS._

_Steve’s stomach dropped and his eyes flew open._

_“Oh my god.” He whispered, feeling the table begin to creek under his fists. The beeping didn’t stop in the background._

_“I know.”_

_“It’s-it’s-“_

_“I found it a few days ago and we only just finished safety scans this morning.” She said grimly, setting the device down. The beeping didn’t stop but with a few clicks on her monitor, the sound dimmed. “I called you as soon as I heard it. The rest of the scraps are useless. But we did...”_

_“What? What else?” He felt himself speak as if through a filter. Like he was struggling to breathe or that the very air in the room had just gone. All he could hear was the beeping. The drumbeat of a heart on timer. A fading life. The echo of a person, a human from earth, who had been lost in space and had taken what little scraps they had to try and leave a message in the hopes that someday it would be found. Because this wasn’t an SOS._

_It was someone’s dying wish. And Steve had an awful, horrible feeling that he knew exactly who’s it was._

**_-.. . ... - .-. --- -.-- / - .... . / .- .-. -- --- .-. ... .-.-.- / - . .-.. .-.. / .... .. -- / .. / .-.. --- ...- . / .... .. -- / .- -. -.. / .. / .- -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- .-.-.-_ **

**_Destroy the armors. Tell him I love him and I am sorry. Destroy the armors. Tell him I love him and I am sorry. Destroy the armors. Tell him I love him and I am sorry-_ **

_It wouldn't stop. On and on it went._

_“No. Carol, no, please-“ Steve struggled to keep himself composed. His eyes squeezed shut as they began to burn. He refused to open them and face this nightmare-_

_“Tell me.” He begged, sounding broken. “Please, Carol, tell me you know.”_

_Carol didn’t look at him. But when he opened his eyes and faced her, he noticed her eyes looking glassy and wet._

_“I don’t know.” She whispered, not blinking as she stared at the monitor. Her hands shook by her sides but it wasn’t enough._

_“Carol!” He snarled, slamming his fist on the table. The wood splintered under his skin but he didn’t take his eyes off her. Because she couldn’t have let this happen. The Avengers team he’d left to become commander could not have let this happen._

_“I don’t know where he is. None of us do. And it’s been three weeks.” She said and finally faced him with dull, haunted eyes._

_“We have reports of more space junk like this. I have the coordinates. I called you here because I wanted to defer it to you. Give you the option before we head out. I thought you would want to know.” She cleared her throat and swallowed._

_“So what do you want to do Steve?”_

Glancing at Sharon, Steve watched her switch through the logs and sighed. He knew she’d been angry the minute he overrode her orders to let this one go to the Avengers and space division in Shield. It hadn’t been right to cut through the chain but he’d had no choice. This was personal.

“Sharon, don’t be like that, _please_. This is stressful enough.” He said quietly, trying to picture any way he could make this better for both of them. He’d only just broken up with her and ironically, the reason hadn’t even been present at the time. Then only days later, Steve had gotten the call from Carol.

Sharon had figured out the rest.

“Sharon-“

“Don’t you _Sharon_ me. We have no business doing this. And you of all people should not be involved-“

With a sigh, Steve shook his head and stared out of the front. The vast expanse of space stared back at him, revealing the distant stars. They were in space and he still had issues that seemed bigger than that.

“I can’t leave this alone, you know that.” 

Enraged, Sharon, spun on her seat and gave him a look that was scorching. “You don’t think it’s a little insane!? Not to mention, _unbelievable!?_ We’re a black ops team, Steve! We don’t ditch our missions to just up and leave the first instance our boyfriend goes missing!”

The weight of the ongoing stress threatened to crush him for a moment, and it was enough to once again make him question whether he was just being unnecessarily cruel bringing Sharon along. How was it fair that only a week after they’d broken up, he was asking her to come on this mission of all things?

“He’s not my boyfriend Sharon.” He said bitterly, feeling his lips curve up into a twisted smile. Oh, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it. It was just that he was tired of seeing their relationship get worse and worse with each catastrophic event that affected the team. Since the SHRA, things had been shambolic and Steve hadn’t even entertained the idea of bringing them together since off course, he’d been assassinated in the process-

And now Steve wouldn’t be the one out of the picture. If _(when)_ Steve found him, he would likely be the one on the other side of the podium. The one giving the eulogy for a man everyone believed he hated with all his heart.

Him and Tony hadn’t spoke since he’d come back. Not a word. This past week had been suffocating because of that. He’d felt like he was back in the ice.

Sharon scoffed and turned back to the screens. “Yeah. Because you don’t think about his dick every five minutes.”

Steve almost, _almost_ snapped back at her. It would’ve felt so good to say it. But he didn’t.

After all, he’d been the one to scream Tony’s name that night. Not her.

“Inbound asteroid belt of delta 49. Expected ETA is ten minutes.” Carol’s voice came through from the back of the quinjet and with a sigh, he turned and left the cockpit. Sharon didn’t say a word to him as he left.

In the main body of the huge quinjet, he was greeted with the sight of the Avengers. Thor and Carol were discussing something with the Shield earth and space teams, while Natasha was helping Hank settle things into a silver briefcase. He decided to join Natasha and Hank.

“Hey. What’s going on?” Steve said with what he hoped was a pleasant smile. Having worked with him for a short time however, they instantly seemed to pick up on how fake it was. Natasha simply shook her head and sighed.

“We’ll find out. Any news?”

“No.”

Not surprised, she nodded and turned back to helping Hank. Steve watched, unblinking as Hank took three pieces of a metallic syringe and twisted them together to lock them into a single unit. 

“Is that it?” Steve said quietly, eyeing the small bottle of liquid in the case. It wasn’t an ordinary case he was staring at. It was a vibranium alloy casing with adamantium locks. And inside was one of the world’s most deadliest virus’ known to man.

“Is it viable?” He added, watching as Hank slipped the syringe into an large injector that almost looked like a gun. The whole mechanism locked with loud snap.

“It should work, provided the source is still alive.” Hank said, ignoring Steve’s flinch. “If there’s even a remnant, this should flush the system and kick-start it.” 

“Like a booster shot?” Nat asked, staring at it like it was harmless. Steve wasn’t so naive.

“More than a shot. This will trigger what’s already in his DNA. Hopefully, it's just deactivated like we suspect.” Hank said, only he paused and leaned forward to look Steve in the eye. “Then again, you must’ve known. For you to have had this already synthesized.”

Steve did not rise to it. He simply tilted his head and raised a brow.

“It’s not a problem. I was just surprised you’d even make something like this. I didn’t think you of all people would want-“ He froze and instantly looked away, seeming distraught. Steve frowned and folded his arms.

“Would want, what?”

“To give Tony the extremis virus again. To synthesize a strain, I mean Steve-“ His eyes flashed as he stared at Steve, mind ticking away behind the glasses. “This is designed exactly for a recipient with an existing strain. And with simulated tests on adult males ranging from thirty to thirty-five years, with a medical history of heart conditions and previous extremis injections. Steve, you can’t seriously believe it’s not obvious who it’s for.”

“I don’t care if it’s obvious or not. As long as it works.” 

“Provided we find him.” Natasha added bluntly, giving him a knowing look. Steve glared straight back at her.

“ETA five minutes. Everyone prepare for suits. Thor and I will go out first as agreed.”

Nodding to Nat and Hank, he turned and walked towards the prep stations and waited. Once Carol and Thor gave the all clear, he would go out next. 

The window next to him showed his reflection staring back at him. Tired, dull eyes blinked and a shadow of fear seemed to paint the reflection in a darker light. If only he could truly pull himself out of the worry to enjoy the view outside.

They’d reached the asteroid belt surrounding a dark grey planet. Space rubble and metal seemed to move around the void in a slow circle, obviously caught in the gravitational pull of the planet. The planet itself seemed fairly small, like their moon back near earth, only smaller. And it seemed to have a strange mist about it, coating the surface in a pale hue.

Steve’s finger itched for the space uniform. He desperately prayed for a miracle. 

_The distress signal is still firing from here. There is still hope._

_Please._

_Let there be hope._

“We’re going out. Beginning search and rescue for distress signal of homing device found on July twenty-third, two thousand and ten. Commencing now.”

The doors to the internal sections of the quinjet closed instantly, creating a vacuum tight seal that was virtually unbreakable, even by Steve or Thor. The air lock in the back of the quinjet then hissed open, creating an opening into space. On the nearby screens, Steve watched as Carol and Thor tested their coms and proceeded to jump into space, almost gear free.

For all Steve was super-human, he was still human. The limitations of that had never burned more than now.

They didn’t need air. As Steve watched Thor and Carol begin to fly around the quinjet, he felt his fingers begin to itch with the desire to do something. It was horrible in every sense, to be standing here and just watching.

Footsteps closed in behind him. A petite hand fell on his shoulder.

“They’ll find him.” Natasha said quietly and Steve nodded wordlessly. They had to.

Through the quinjet cameras, Steve watched them fly through the asteroids. They continued to give commentary on what they found, noting increasing signs of space metal. The asteroids seemed to be increasing in size as well. Steve knew, with a sinking feeling, that that did not bode well for anyone on this planet.

If the asteroids were too big, they would have little room to maneuver and without serious horse-power, it would be near impossible for a human. 

_Please._

Once Carol and Thor had investigated enough, Carol made a suggestion.

“Thor and I will move the asteroids out. If you can bring the quinjet in, we’ll try to land. We think the air is actually breathable. Readings are showing oxygen levels are thirty percent with nitrogen levels at sixty. Other measurements are similar to earth.”

Steve raised a hand to the panel by the screen and pressed the call button. “Sharon, Maria, confirm?”

“Confirmed.” They both said in sync and Steve nodded.

“Proceed as suggested.”

It took twenty nine minutes before they managed to reach the planet atmosphere. Mist surrounded the quinjet but thankfully the sensors did not let them down. With Carol and Thor’s help, they managed to land safely on the surface.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Behind them, the airlock doors hissed open and Thor walked in, looking wary.

“Friends, the air is indeed breathable. Captain Danvers has already gone ahead to retrieve scans. We suggest one enhanced Avenger join us in the search so as to ensure we can bring them back, should the air change.” Thor said and eyed Steve carefully.

It didn’t matter. Steve had already made up his mind.

“I’ll go. Forget the suit, I’ll be fine.”

Thor opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Then he nodded and turned back round.

“Very well Captain. Come, we must make haste.”

Checking everything was in place, Steve sharply turned on his heel and held his hand out.

“The injector.”

Silently Hank handed it to him and didn’t stop him as he tucked it into his belt. Once it was in place, Steve stood tall and nodded.

“Wish me luck.”

* * *

The planet was solid under his feet. The ground didn’t crumble away and thankfully didn’t swallow him whole. But other than a dark grey dust that felt like clay, a baron wasteland of a planet contained nothing. There was a slight mist that seemed to follow the same slow movement as the asteroids, but nothing else.

Sucking in a deep breath, Steve straightened his shoulders and looked around.

“We can talk. That’s how you knew.” He said loudly into the coms but really didn’t need to. He could hear his voice clearly.

In front of him, Thor nodded, looking far too concerned by the empty surroundings. 

“Indeed, Captain. There are air particles. A good sign but-“ His eyes darted across the ground, growing more and more concerned. “No food. Or life signs.”

“We should split up. Carol’s gone forward, so you go right and I go left. The trackers are still working fine and the others can hear us. We’ll regroup in thirty and call if we find something before, agreed?” Steve asked, fiddling with the watch on his wrist. It displayed the atmosphere details, oxygen levels, and distance from the quinjet.

“Very well Captain. I agree that it is best to look. Have caution.” Thor replied and with a final nod, began to run in the opposite direction. Steve was alone for now.

“Did you hear that okay?”

“Loud and clear Cap.” Nat’s voice crackled and Steve let out a breath.

He began to walk in his chosen direction. Focused and determined, he didn’t let up, even when the mist got thicker. The air pressure didn’t change thankfully, but it was becoming harder and harder to see. It was some time before he began to realize where it was coming from.

The dark grey clay under his feet was becoming more blue and crumbly as he walked. Beneath it, slow tendrils of smoke swirled outwards from the cracks, almost curling around him tantalizingly. The mist was sinking lower and becoming a bigger obstacle for walking. Luckily nothing was on the ground to make him trip-

His foot hit something. His foot _hit_ something. 

Startled, Steve jumped back and cursed mentally, feeling his heart begin to pound. He yanked the shield off his back and held it out, squinting his eyes to look for the danger.

But he saw nothing. Just the low layer of mist obscuring the blue ground.

Feeling his body shake, he lifted his hand and clicked his ear com. 

“Everyone okay?”

“Yeah, all fine. You?” Carol answered instantly, seeming a little out of breath.

“I’m fine. But I think I might’ve found something.” He said, inching closer with his shield out. His eyes were glued to the mystery spot where his foot had connected with something. He prayed it was good news.

“What kind of thing?”

“I don’t know. But I’m about to find out.”

Sucking in a deep breath, he walked closer and closer until finally his foot touched that thing again. This time he didn’t startle, and instead, crouched down.

Putting his shield back, he used his hands to wave away the mist.

What he saw, made his heart freeze.

“Carol.” His hands shook. “Everyone, get over here.”

“Why, what have you found?”

With wide eyes, he reached into the dust and picked up the small piece of metal. It was tiny and shaped like a triangle, and only the size of his palm, but sharp and broken on one edge. 

It was also a familiar gold. And had a red colored stain on the jagged edge.

“I think it’s a piece of titanium gold alloy. Earth.”

Carol didn’t call him out on it. She didn’t bother. She only asked one thing.

“Tony?”

His hand closed around the piece tightly. The sharp edge dug into his glove, hard.

“Tony.” He whispered, feeling his body go cold. His senses felt washed out, like he was about to give out. Only he heard a sound-

“-ve? Steve, c’mon. What exactly-“

“It has his blood on it.” He continued to echo, not daring to open his hand again, for fear that he’d see something else that would just break him. “It’s been broken off. Definitely his armor.”

“Scan it. Dammit Steve, you need to send us the info!” 

Steve wanted to laugh at that. Even Sharon was telling him. He needed to snap out of it. For Tony’s sake-

“Scanning now.” Forcing himself to move, he lifted his wrist up and opened his palm. He didn’t focus beyond the watch as he scanned.

“Identifying. Scans complete. That’s-“ Suddenly Hank swore. “Human blood. Ninety-six percent match to Anthony Edward Stark. He’s here.”

“I know.” He said numbly, lowering his hand and scanning the area around him. The mist swirled around him and Steve was struck by a realization.

“I’m gonna start calling for him. Everyone make your way here.”

Before anyone could protest, Steve switched to private mode and stood tall. Then he cupped his hands to his mouth and began to shout;

“TONY! TONY, WHERE ARE YOU!?”

He didn’t stop, even as he began to run.

“TONY! I’M HERE! YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY, I’M HERE, TALK TO ME-“

The sound of his shield slipping off jolted him out of his thoughts. A loud clang of metal made him jump about five feet and he swore as he turned. The stress was getting to him, and the last thing he needed to do was get clumsier. Had he seriously not engaged his shield into the straps-

Steve’s heart stopped. The air left his lungs within seconds.

Beside his shield was an outstretched hand. A human hand with four fingers and one thumb that was fully encased in a familiar red gauntlet. The mist didn’t allow for much, but Steve could already see further hints of red beside it.

“Oh god...” Steve whispered, dropping to his knees. Quickly, he slammed on his com and gasped.

“I’ve found him, I’ve found Tony!” He wheezed, feeling his hands shake as he wafted the mist away. Slowly, the Ironman armor was revealed to him, completely sprawled one the ground, with parts of the chest and leg plates torn and areas covered in blood.

“Stay calm Cap. We’re coming.” 

It was difficult. How could he stay calm? How could he be neutral when Tony’s suit lay so vulnerable out here, millions of miles away from home, with no hope in sight? How could he be calm, when the last time he’d spoken to Tony, had been after Tony had woken up from a coma, where all he’d said was that he was done and that Tony had gone too far?

Steve hadn’t known what he was saying. He hadn’t had any idea what he was doing. That hadn’t been far. **This** was far.

The armor was flat on its back, and seemed to be an older version of Ironman. The helmet was engaged but no lights were on and under Steve’s palm, the chest plate was cool. Steve couldn’t tell whether Tony was even inside.

“Tony?” He tried, even though his voice shook and his heart raced. Tears welled in his eyes. There was no response.

“Tony, please.” He croaked, reaching up to slip his hands under the helmet. Feeling his throat tighten, he began to press and lift the helmet up.

He couldn’t have braced himself for the feeling of actually seeing Tony. This was the first time he’d seen Tony in months and Tony was- _he was-_

He looked dead.

Steve let out a raw sound and pulled Tony’s head gently into his arms, feeling his body begin to shake. In his lap, Tony’s head lolled and rested, almost at peace with whatever it was that had happened.

His face was ice-white, almost as if he’d been preserved like Steve had been once. His lips were blue, as if painted by the same dust as the ground was. And his body was limp and lifeless as Steve cradled him and touched his cheek gently.

 _He’s cold._ Steve thought, feeling his eyes well with tears and his body choke. _He's so cold._

“I found him.” He choked, feeling the stunned silence he got in return. “I f-found him.”

“Send scans. Now!”

“He’s n-not breathing-“

“Steve!”

Swallowing and outwardly shaking now, Steve lifted his hand over Tony and sent the scans. He watched the screen blearily as he waited, feeling sick to his stomach and guilty to his core. He’d kept Tony away and-

“He’s alive! Cap, he’s alive-!”

_What?_

“Steve, his heart rate-!”

The words hit him like a slap. Sharp and directed, they completely stopped every thought and yanked him away from the edge. What the hell was he _doing?_

“Steve, give him the injection, hurry-!”

Quick as lightening, Steve yanked the injector out of his belt and clicked it. The needle was ready as it had always been.

Steve felt like beating himself. Anger flooded through his body and furiously, he swiped at the tears on his face.

He was costing Tony time. His emotions were stopping him from thinking straight. Next time, he wouldn’t-

_There won’t be a next time. Tony's not leaving my sight after this._

Slipping a hand under Tony’s chin, he guided Tony’s head upwards to expose his throat. Holding the position, he angled the injector at the base of his carotid and prayed.

Then he unlocked the mechanism and pressed the plunger.

Tony’s whole body jumped and he let out a shout.

The sound was music to Steve’s ears and determined, he tightened his grip on Tony’s chin, holding the needle in place. It wasn’t done yet.

Unconsciously, Tony began to groan quietly and try and pull away from Steve and really, he could empathize. Only that wouldn’t be enough to stop Steve from saving Tony’s life. If he had to endure a little pain, Steve would take it.

“How quickly will this work Hank?” He asked, feeling something relight in him as Tony’s eyes fluttered.

“I’m not sure. Could be ten hours, could be ten min-“

A loud groan cut him off. It was so loud Steve was sure everyone heard it through the coms. 

“Steve...” Carol breathed in his ear. Steve didn’t take his eyes off Tony, not even for a second.

Tony scrunched his eyes and turned his head the other way, frowning as he did when his cheek fell into Steve’s now empty palm. The injector slipped out of his hand and fell forgotten on the ground.

“Hey Tony, that’s it. Open your eyes.” Steve said quietly, feeling the first hint of something more. A warmth he hadn’t known since he’d found out Tony had erased his mind. He felt so drained but seeing Tony moving and breathing-

Tony’s eyelids fluttered again and finally they opened to reveal dazed, but electric blue eyes.

“S-St’ve?”

Feeling almost stunned for a moment, Steve kept quiet and waited. He didn’t dare stop Tony from speaking now.

“Wh't...ext’remis?” He whispered and when he rolled his head to look up at Steve directly, his pupils were blown wide and bright blue, with faint lines running across.

Steve kept his palm on Tony’s cheek and swept his thumb over his cheek lightly. Feeling something deep in him relax, Steve sucked in a deep breath and swallowed. For the first time in maybe months, his shoulders relaxed.

“You’re okay.” Steve said confidently, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to the sky. “I’ve given you a mild strain. It’s designed to kick-start your internal system. Help your hard drive as you’d say.”

Even as Steve spoke, he could see Tony was already starting to understand. Areas where the armor had been damaged started to heal with a gold mesh under-suit that escaped from Tony’s skin. As his eyes glowed in the faint light, the gold began to climb up his neck too, and stop just short of where Steve’s hand lay. Then it retracted a little and Steve could finally relax.

The injection was working. Tony was in control.

“H-how..did you...?” Tony’s eyes closed for a moment and then he frowned. But when he opened them they were back to normal, fully bright and wide and full of color. Tony’s color.

“How did you make a version that was so...so easy?” Tony whispered, staring up at Steve like he was some kind of genius. It was Steve’s turn to frown.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s so...” Tony lifted up a hand and waved it around until Steve caught it. “So easy.”

“I don’t understand.” Steve’s eyes darted over Tony rapidly, making sure there were no areas of injury left. But other than seeming exhausted, Tony looked a thousand times better. His cheeks were regaining his natural color, even to the top of his nose, and his skin felt so much warmer. Steve decided to keep his hand on Tony’s cheek to keep an eye, just in case.

“It’s not...too much. I can control it.” Tony breathed, turning a little more into Steve’s hand. 

“Let me see.” Steve ever so gently brushed over Tony’s eyes, staring carefully into the startled blue. Thankfully Tony really did seem to be in control.

“How does it feel?”

“Good...I think. It’s extremis.” Tony said with a growing frown and then looked up at Steve in complete awe. “You gave me extremis.”

“I did.”

“I thought you hated it.” Tony said quietly and exhaled shakily when Steve pulled him off his lap gently.

“I do.” Steve said simply, running his hands over the armor carefully from top to bottom. The gold mesh was doing wonders and Steve could hardly see the places where Tony had been hurt. That raised the next question though.

“What happened? Are you still hurt? Why are you in this armor? And why the hell are you on another planet?” A sudden burst of anger flooded Steve’s body. “Did you come here on your own!?”

Tony stared at him with wide eyes. His eyes seemed to be glued onto Steve’s hands which were clutching at his calves.

“Well? Answer me.” Steve seethed, and Tony‘s eyes darted up at him in shock.

“You’re worried about me.” Tony whispered and that- **that** set him off.

“Worried? _Worried!?_ I was **_terrified!_ **No one has seen you in weeks, Tony! You disappeared, literally off the face of the earth, told no one and then Carol came back with a broken transmitter that had just one message! No coordinates, no clues-just you telling me you were sorry!”

At that, Tony looked away and focused on the sky blankly. 

“I am sorry.”

“No.” Steve shook his head firmly, knowing full well that Tony could feel his gaze. “Not good enough.”

“Well, what’d you expect!?” Tony snapped sharply, pulling his gaze away from the endless sky to glare at him. “You don’t care, you made that perfectly clear! I’m sorry but I can’t change the way I-“

“I love you too, you know.”

Tony froze. For a full minute he just gasped at Steve and Steve watched as all the emotions appeared on his face. Shock, anger, sadness, fear-

_Hope. Excitement._

But Tony didn’t give in. “You can’t mean that-“

“I do.”

“You can’t mean it. You don’t need to pretend.” Tony shook his head desperately. “Please don’t pretend.”

It was time. Steve had kept quiet for too long. They needed to talk.

Stealing his nerves, he took a deep breath and watched as realization dawned in Tony’s eyes before he even spoke.

“I’ve loved you for years. With everything that’s happened, that hasn’t changed. We’ve been through so much together and even though you irritate the hell out of me sometimes-“ Steve’s lips twitched when Tony snickered. “I still think of you. Everyday.”

Tony’s eyes glistened in the starlight. He kept trying to mask his expression but every time he met Steve’s eyes, he just smiled like he couldn’t help it. 

“Everyday huh?”

“Everyday.” He said and laughed tiredly. “Ask Sharon.” 

Guilt sunk low in his stomach as he spoke. He owed Sharon so many apologies but he couldn’t lie any more. It was doomed from the start.

“I’m sorry.” Tony said and Steve tilted his head. “I didn’t mean for you to...”

“Don’t be.” He wasn’t. Whatever he felt about Sharon, that wouldn’t stop him from caring about Tony. “It wasn’t going to work.”

“And...with me?”

Steve did smile at that. Tony sounded so-so _shy._ It was almost unbelievable.

“Yeah Shellhead.” He said quietly, meeting Tony’s gaze. “I think we have a shot.”

It was like the sun had risen in Tony’s eyes. His smile was breathtaking and his eyes twinkled with such happiness at the words. There was so much in his gaze that Steve couldn’t even begin to understand.  
  
But he did understand enough. He knew what he wanted and what Tony wanted too.

“We have a lot to discuss. But I want to try. I’m ready to try.”

“Me too. Please.” Tony whispered, looking for all the world like he was the happiest man alive. The dazed expression on his face said it all.

Just as Steve was about to say more, the com came to life in his ear again, and to his horror, Carol and Thor began to congratulate them.

“This is most joyous!”

“I’m so glad for you boys-“

“Could you hear us!?” Steve said, feeling his face go red. It was mortifying, that was private and what he and Tony discussed was-

“Hey.” 

Steve looked down and saw Tony’s hand touch his briefly. 

“It doesn’t matter. I love you, I don’t care if anyone knows. Right?” He said softly, looking so hopeful, it nearly broke Steve’s heart.

_Well it’s only fair._

“Stand up.” 

“What?”

“Stand up. C’mon, I want you up.” Steve said, patting his knees and getting up. Once stood, he held out a hand and hauled Tony up, armor and all, until he was on his feet.

“Whoah. I forgot how insanely strong you are. Could give a guy a complex.” Tony said faintly, not registering Steve’s hand slip around his neck.

A glance of his watch told him what he needed. He used his other hand to hold Tony’s hair.

“I don’t care either. I want people to know.” He said, watching Tony’s eyes widen as he leaned closer. And behind Tony, shadows began to appear in the mist.

“Take a deep breath Shellhead.” He breathed, watching Carol and Thor emerge from the mist.

Then he sealed his lips to Tony’s and pulled him close, holding him tightly in an almost bruising grip. Tony gasped in his mouth and Steve used the chance to slip his tongue into his mouth and take what was his. Tony moaned and shivered but didn’t stop and Steve couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

Finally, when he pulled away, he stared at the breathtaking view of the man he loved. Tony smiled back at him, equally mystified and behind them, Carol and Thor just smiled.

“C’mon. Let’s get you home.” Steve whispered and linked a hand around Tony’s waist to guide him back. It wouldn't be easy, he knew. This wasn't some magical fix. But it was a start.

It was only after a few steps that Tony paused and turned to Steve.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime Shellhead. Anytime.”

And with that, they began their long journey home.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much everyone and especially papoula!! Please do leave a comment and tell me what you think :D
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr or Discord!
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/masterlokisev159


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